The Role of Science in the Uruguay Round and NAFTA Trade Disciplines

This paper examines the increasingly important role of science in the structure and operation of international trade agreements. Indeed, under the recently completed Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Uruguay Round) and the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)T. the presence and integrity of scientific support is a principal touchstone for determining the legitimacy of many national regulatory efforts aimed at assuring environmental integrity or safeguarding public health. More particularly, the analysis in this paper is intended to highlight the quiescent issues at the interface between science and governmental regulatory policies that are raised by the emphasis on scientific validity in the Uruguay Round and the NAFTA.